


Never Forget

by magicandlight



Series: The States [31]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Although I do try to put a little humor in a terrible situation, Don't Like Don't Read, Gen, Like the fact that New York is a Bad Catholic™, Not a Happy Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-16
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2018-12-30 15:31:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12111771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicandlight/pseuds/magicandlight
Summary: -Regarding Sources:The Italics under certain times come from http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-timeline





	1. 7:30 AM-9:00 AM

**7:30 AM**  
In New York City, an alarm goes off, blaring the latest Broadway hit.

Brooke slams her hand down on the  _off_  button and encounters a post it.

It reads  _Meeting w/ Connie+Monty @ 11AM._

She rolls out of bed, hissing at the contact between cold floor and bare feet, wondering where her socks went- she had gone to sleep with them on. At least, that's what she thought. She wasn't really sure, as it had been around four when she went to sleep and she had around eight cups of coffee in three hours at that point.

It takes approximately thirteen seconds to strip and hop in the shower. She smiles at the bottle of Old Spice body wash Will left behind as she pours a generous amount of shampoo in her hand.

 _Two more weeks, and then they had a whole week together_ , she tells herself.  _Just two more weeks_.

 **7:35 AM**  
In Windsor, Vermont, Connie grins at Monty as he slides into the passenger seat.

She flat-out laughs when Champ, Cam and Monty's Chinook, jumps into Monty's lap and Cam has to forcibly remove the dog from the car. [[x]](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/607423068463686999/)

 **8:10 AM**  
Back in New York, Brooke tosses the towel in the hamper before yanking on a pair of underwear and shorts. For a second she stands in the closet, clad in her shorts and bra, and stares at her clothes. Then she selects one her favorite shirts- a periodic table of paint chips. [[x]](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/607423068463686997/) She grabs her red converse, a hoodie, and her bag before heading out.

 **8:30 AM**  
In Philadelphia, Will laughs as a pancake hits his kitchen floor.

His sister pokes her tongue out at him. She'd been trying to flip the pancakes in the air like he did.

Del had just stayed over since the meeting about interstate trade had ended at 8:40 last night, and she didn't feel like driving two hours back to Dover.

Will looks back towards his phone, at Brooke's cheerful  _good morning_  text.

•••••••••   
In New York, Brooke smiles as she passes a little girl.

The sky is a clean, crisp blue. The sun is shining. It's  _beautiful_.

Brooke twirls around once, New Yorkers roll their eyes and step out of the way.

She didn't feel like cooking breakfast today, but she knew her siblings would want to eat something after driving down. Her favorite bakery was only five blocks away, and she had time to spare.

She walks in, smiling at the smell of freshly baked pastries.

Meg, the woman who owned the shop, takes one look at her and holds up a hand.

Meg disappears to the back and comes back with a box, which she hands to Brooke. "My daughter's babysitter eats free." Meg tells her.

Technically, Brooke had only babysat once, and that was because Meg was nice and she reminded Brooke of the elderly woman who owned the restaurant below her old apartment.  

"You don't-" 

"I insist." Meg says. Money isn't an issue for Brooke, and it hasn't been one since the second world war- she worked a steady flow of jobs, the government gave personifications a decent amount of money (Alfred jokingly calls it their allowance) and Brooke had a bad (or good habit, depending on how you look at it) of hoarding money. And things, sometimes. It's a side effect of living so long with nothing. Or living through the depression. Either one. 

Brooke sighs as she realized there would be no arguing. "Thank you."

Brooke walks out, the box of pastries held tight as she checks the time. She's delighted to find she has time to go the long way.

 **8:35 AM**  
In Alexandria, Ginny is braiding her hair back while reading over the papers Alfred had asked her to write up.

When she sees the clock, she curses and grabs her bag and car keys.

•••••••••  
In Washington DC, Alfred and Sera are trying to pick up the mess of papers that had fallen off Sera's desk.

They get them back on the desk, organized into their piles, and Alfred makes the mistake of asking how Leo is. Sera flushes a bright crimson that clashes with her hair horribly and forces out an answer about soccer and school.

•••••••••  
In Sarasota, Flora is standing out in the hall with the Secret Service as the President talks to the elementary schoolers. 

Flora smiles as one of the children laugh before going back to thinking about where she should take Scarlett for their next date.

 **8:46 AM**  
_At 8:46 AM, American Airlines Flight 11 crashes into floors 93-99 of the North Tower of the World Trade Center._

The first sign that something is very  _very_  wrong is the horrible sense of anticipation.

Brooke drops the box, pastries spilling out onto the sidewalk, as her head and side explode in pain.

_Both physical damage to the city and the deaths of innocents, then._

She presses a hand to her side and gasps as her hands come away dark with blood.

Her people- they're  _dying_. It  _hurts hurts hurts_. The people are scared and alone and hurt and  _someone_  has to do  _something_.

Then the real pain hits, and she hits the pavement. The world goes black as her head hits  _hard_.

•••••••••  
In Washington DC, Alfred clutches at his right collarbone in pain and gasps out something about New York.

 **8:47 AM**  
In Jersey City, Nicky is at the dispatch station, about to get off his shift. It's been a quiet day.

Just as he's about to leave, every phone starts ringing.

He picks up a phone.

And drops it as the frantic words register.

 **8:50 AM**  
In Sarasota, Flora watches in confusion as the White House Chief of Staff moves out of the hallway to take a phone call.

And then she watches as he goes into the classroom to whisper into the President's ear.

"What was that about?" Flora asks him when he comes out.

He looks at her with eyes filled with sadness. "A plane has hit the North Tower of World Trade Center."

Everything stops.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Regarding Sources:  
> The Italics under certain times come from http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-timeline


	2. 9:00 AM-10:02 AM

**9:00 AM**  
In New York, an EMS worker thinks to check the purse for the wallet of the girl bleeding out on their gurney.

He comes across a card with a phone number on it and an ID.

 _Brooke Natalie Jones, Aged 18,_ the ID reads.

The phone number card is an emergency contact- a Nicholas Jones.

The paramedic dials the number.

He is just hanging up when the girl blinks big, bright blue eyes open.

•••••••••  
In Sarasota, Flora paces back and forth as she tries to call Will.

 _If anyone knows where Brooke is, it'll be him_ , she thinks.

She wants to call Scarlett- but what if Scarlett hasn't heard yet? What if she could give her a few more moments of peace before she shattered it?

•••••••••  
In DC, Sera must have screamed when Alfred fell, hands clutched to his collarbone where a large gash is forming.

Secret Service burst into her office. "Hospital." One tells Sera. She nods, numb.

 **9:01 AM**  
In Philadelphia, Will frowns at his cell phone as it rings. "Uh, hi?"

"Where are you right now?"

"Flora?" Flora almost never calls him. (Actually, had she  _ever_  called him?)

"Will! Answer the question!"

"Philadelphia?"

"Is Brooke with you?"

"No, but Del is. Brooke has a meeting today. Why?"

"Do you know who Brooke was meeting today?"

"Um." Will thinks for a second. "Connie and Monty. Sam was supposed to be there, but she had to cancel. But really, why? Why're you asking about Brooke?"

Flora takes a deep, shuddering breath. "Turn on the news, they're probably reporting it by now."

"What?" Will asks.

Flora hangs up on him.

"Hey, Del, can you turn on the news?"

"Yeah, sure. Wh-  _oh my god!_ "

Will's blood runs cold.

Will enters his living room quickly, where Del is staring in horror at the tv.

Because a plane has crashed into the World Trade Center.

•••••••••  
In Jersey City, Nicky could cry as he gets the phone call from the paramedic and speeds up. When he stuck the card into Brooke's wallet, he hadn't expected to ever get a phone call.

**9:02 AM**  
_At 9:02 AM, Port Authority officials broadcast orders to evacuate both towers via the public address system after initially instructing tenants of the WTC's South Tower to remain in the building; an estimated 10,000 to 14,000 people are already in the process of evacuating._

In Philadelphia, Will stares in mute horror at the tv.

On the television, it is a beautiful, clear day in downtown Manhattan, except for the tower in the center of it that had smoke billowing out from it up into the sky.

Del has a hand over her mouth. She looks at Will helplessly. "How-how could someone sneak a bomb into the towers?  _I thought they had fixed that_."

 _They had_ , Will wants to say, because he remembers February 1993 when that bomb had been planted in the parking garage and Brooke had looked like someone had sucker punched her and how Alfred had come up and helped her fix the security system.

But  _clearly_ , they hadn't fixed it enough. Screams sound from the footage playing.

He turns away. He can't watch this. He spins back around when Del gasps.

"William, it was a  _plane_ , they crashed a  _plane_  into the towers."

"A  _plane_?" Will's jaw drops. "Who the fuck flies a plane into a tower? How the hell do you screw up  _that_  badly?"

Del had flown planes, once. She wasn't an expert like David or Cordelia, but she knew what it was like. "Will- those are perfect flying conditions- look at the sky-"

"What if the engine failed or-"

"William, even if it did," Del pauses for a moment, seemingly thinking about what she was saying. "The pilot would-should- know better than to fly directly into a populated area and risk  _this_." Del pointed at the TV. "There's literally an entire ocean, the entire bay, for them to land into, and yet they just happened to crash into  _the_  World Trade Center?"

Will shakes his head. He needs to call Brooke, he needs to call Alfred, someone had to tell Adrien and Nicky _, where was his phone_ -

He'd left it on the table. Will turns to go and get it at the same time Del gasps-

**9:03 AM**  
_At 9:03 AM, Hijackers crash United Airlines Flight 175 into floors 75-85 of the WTC's South Tower, killing everyone on board and hundreds inside the building._

Will turns just in time to see the second plane smash into the south tower.

(Brooke and him had had a picnic at the top of the south tower- the day they'd finished construction, long before the public had access. The towers had been the tallest in the world, and Brooke had always liked heights. They'd watched the sunset, and Brooke had kissed him and whispered  _I love you_  over and over.)

•••••••••  
In New York, the ambulance is just arriving at the hospital when the second plane hits.

Brooke screams.

Another wound tears into her skin and the bleeding hadn't stopped for the  _first_  one. The buzzing pain in her head increases tenfold.

The paramedics don't understand what's happening.

They do know that the way her fingers gripping and scratching at her head as if she was trying to get at something underneath her skull is  _not_  good.

The paramedics shudder as they grab her wrists, pulling her hands away.

(Those screams were something from a horror movie, liquid horror and absolute agony. That sound would haunt them for a while.)

•••••••••  
In DC, they are on their way to Bethesda when the plane hits, and Alfred bites his lip to keep from screaming as another gash opens.

•••••••••  
"Ginny, can you meet us at the hospital?" Is the first thing Sera says when Ginny picks up the phone. Her voice is strained.

"Hospital? What hospital? Who is  _us_? Sera?!"

"Bethesda. And Dad, a small secret service detail, and me."

"What? Why?"

"They're saying it looks like a terrorist attack. Can you meet me?"

"A terrorist attack?! Where?!"  _Not Sera, not again-_

"New York." And then Sera hangs up.

Ginny presses her foot on the gas and dials a number from memory.

Any other day, and she would smile at the sleepy, grumpy greeting she gets from the other side. But it isn't an other day.

"Hey, West, something's happened."

 **9:05 AM**  
In Philadelphia, Will snaps out of it and grabs his keys. "Come on, Del, let's go."

•••••••••  
In Bethesda, Sera is organizing the States, checking the ones she can get a hold of off the list, assigning them tasks- she puts Sam, Corey, and Aidan on the difficult job of assisting in grounding all flights in America and activating operation Yellow Ribbon.

Davy is told to call whichever states he needs in order to start scrambling jets.

Alexander is called and told to cancel the war games that had been planned, and told to pass it on to Ivan, Stella, Jenara, and Sebastian. (" _But we're on the third day, why are we cutting them short-?" "Sasha, there's been a terrorist attack. A real one. Just get it done, okay_?")

Julian calls  _her_ just as she's dialing Callie's number, and informs her he's at the Colorado NORAD headquarters. (" _Great. Try to identify the hijacked planes." "Will do, Sera_.")

She calls Grace. She's just about to speak when she interrupts. "Sera, it's opening day of the UN General Assembly."

Sera freezes.  _Opening day_. She had known this. Alfred was scheduled to be in New York tomorrow. The plane tickets were in his briefcase. It was marked on the calendar pinned to the corkboard in her office.

Sera breathes. "Grace, the nations who aren't already in New York would have been scheduled to arrive later today or tomorrow."

"Do we know who's already there?"

Sera thinks, going back to the papers she had looked at yesterday. "Some of the Security Council nations. England, France, and Russia were meant to fly overnight and arrive tomorrow morning, I don't know China's status, and America is obviously with me."

"The nonpermanent members?"

"Bangladesh, Colombia, Ireland, Jamaica, Mali, Mauritius, Norway, Singapore, Tunisia, Ukraine. Ukraine, Norway, and Ireland are all within the UN Building at the moment. Columbia, Jamaica were flying in tomorrow. The rest were arriving in the morning."

"Miscellaneous nations?"

"Germany and Prussia arrived yesterday. Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland accompanied Norway. I think that's it?" She couldn't know if there were others- Alfred had said he would handle the UN meetings, and Sera typically worked on what Alfred or the President gave her. Ginny was the one who would keep Alfred from procrastinating. Ginny would know what to do, who was where, everything.

Grace's voice is gentle. "Do you want me to call Matthew and see what he can do?"

"That would be great. I'll see if I can get the embassies on the line to take them in- they can't stay there, there are few places that a terrorist could target that have more impact than the UN on opening day."

**9:08 AM**  
_At 9:08 AM, the FAA bans all takeoffs of flights going to New York City or through the airspace around the city._

In London, England is in his garden when France bursts through the gate.

England is yelling at him until the almost frantic words France had shouted register.

And then he's scrambling for the television. He flips the channels until he lands on the news- showing America's twin towers, smoke pouring out of both of them. France is beside him, looking horrified.

•••••••••  
In New York, Nicky is in the elevator at Bellevue. Brooke is screaming, and Nicky can hear it the second the elevator doors open.

They are siblings- geographically and ancestrally connected. Plenty of his people work in the towers. He's surprised he isn't feeling sympathy pains yet.

It takes a second for Nicky to reach his sister's hospital room and he flinches at what greets him.

Brooke is screaming, scratching at her head and Nicky doesn't want to know where all the blood on her shirt came from.

There are doctors, trying to get her to calm down, to stay still long enough to examine her.

The screams are dying down, replaced by shaky sobs.

"Sir! You can't be here-" A nurse calls as she notices him.

"She's my sister." Nicky blurts. "Her name is Brooke Natalie Jones, she's eighteen and  _she is my sister_."

"Twins?" The nurse asks.

"Fraternal." Nicky lies. "You need permission from a family member to do most procedures, right? Our dad is on the other side of the country," Lie. "And our mother is dead," They never had one to begin with. "So I'm the only one who could sign off on anything."

•••••••••  
The Secret Service is waiting when Ginny gets to the hospital.

"First Lieutenant." They greet her and then escort her up to Alfred's room.

He looks fine, aside from the gash on his collarbone. It's already bled through the bandage.

"Do you know how Brooke is?" He asks her desperately.

Ginny doesn't, but considering how long she's known Brooke, she has an idea.

"Pissed off." Is her answer. Ginny ignores the pang from the fact she just lied to her father, her nation.

Alfred smiles. "Sounds like her."

•••••••••  
In Columbus, Cordelia is snarling at FAA commanders, ordering them to put the planes  _down._ She doesn't even like Brooke (She doesn't like Will and Brooke is Will's girlfriend.) but they're still family.

The planes in Ohio are grounded.

•••••••••  
In Ottawa, Grace smiles as Matthew answers on the first ring.

"Papa, Sera wants to know if you can call the nations at the UN and tell them to go to their embassies?"

"Which nations are there?"

"She said Germany, Prussia, possibly China, the Nordics, Ireland, Ukraine. Possibly more. She said she'd email you contact information for the ones she knows where there."

"What about nations who don't have embassies in New York?"

"Sera says to tell them to go to whatever embassy they would feel most comfortable in, but they should have somewhere to go?"

"What about Alfred?" Matthew questions. In the background, she can hear Adrien shout  _What about Brooke?_

Grace's smile falls. "Sera's with Alfred, but she didn't say anything."

"And Brooke?"

"They can't find her." Grace whispers.

 **9:10 AM**  
Monty answers his phone with a smile. "Hey, Cam, we're about halfway there- what?"

Connie turns to Monty, noting how tense he is suddenly. "What do you mean a plane crashed?" Monty's face twists. "There were  _two_  planes? I don't understand."

"What's happened?" Connie whispers.

"Cam says two planes have crashed into the twin towers."

" _What?_ "

**9:21 AM**  
_At 9:21 AM, the Port Authority closes all bridges and tunnels in the New York City area._

Brooke, who has been sedated at this point, shudders when the bridges are shut down.

Nicky suppresses his own shudder and grips his sister's hand. The nurses and doctors had left after much convincing that Brooke wasn't dying. They sympathy pains had started not long after that, and now he had a migraine pounding in his skull.

One of the doctors had stitched up the wounds stretching from her hip to the left side of her ribcage.

Nicky hadn't had the heart to tell her not to bother- she seemed to think Brooke had been knifed, which was a funny thought.

(" _Damn, girl, whoever got you got you bad, it's sliced open all the way down into the muscles_.  _Almost all the way through._ "  _She had muttered while stitching her up_.)

•••••••••  
In Bethesda, Sera is updating Alfred on the statuses of the states.

The general consensus is that none of them tell Alfred they haven't found Brooke yet and that Nicky's dropped off the map.

It's bad luck that both Sasha and Lani were back in their own lands for the next week and a half.

Alfred's mouth tightens when she reminds him of this. "They're states." He says finally. "They can handle themselves. What about the others?"

**9:24 AM**  
_At 9:24 AM, The FAA notified NEADS of the suspected hijacking of Flight 77 after some passengers and crew aboard are able to alert family members on the ground._

Julian's headpiece is in, and he listens as NEADS informs them there is  _another_  plane.

 **9:30 AM**  
Sera calls Callie, who in summary, is flipping the hell out.

The flights that had crashed into the twin towers were heading for Los Angeles. Those people were supposed to be flying home to her state, not  _dead_. Certainly not  _crashed into the World Trade Center_.

Callie breaks down crying on the other side, and Sera just listens.

**9:31 AM**  
_At 9:31 AM, Speaking from Florida, President Bush calls the events in New York City an "apparent terrorist attack on our country."_

Flora feels like she's about to cry as the President calls the "events" in New York a terrorist attack.

 _Events_? Her sister, her father are in the hospital. The United States of America has been attacked twice in one day. Those aren't events, they are acts of  _war._

**9:37 AM**  
_At 9:37 AM, Hijackers aboard Flight 77 crash the plane into the western façade of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., killing 59 aboard the plane and 125 military and civilian personnel inside the building._

The first thing Ginny feels is the horrible anticipation and then the blinding pain. She feels the attack before America feels it.

She screams.

And then she falls.

She isn't conscious to hear the alarmed shouts and frantic footsteps.

•••••••••  
Sera is sitting in the hospital bed beside Alfred, her laptop open and playing Disney at an obscene volume.

Pain ripples through her arm suddenly and she cries out. Alfred, beside her, gasps a little.

She pulls her arm put her blazer and stares blankly at the blood staining the sleeve of her white dress shirt before she starts feeling it- the panic, fear, hurt.

The Pentagon might be in Virginia, but it was once a part of her. It is federal, not state.

Alfred protests as she gets up, pulling her blazer back on to cover up the blood staining the sleeve of her shirt.

•••••••••  
Wes is just arriving when the plane hits.

He catches his sister before she hits the floor.

Sera runs, her smart-looking ballet flats holding up surprisingly well.

"Ginny-" Her voice catches for a moment. She turns to the Secret Service. "Can you inform the doctors we'll be taking the rooms on the either side of Alfred as well?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Sera looks at Wes questioningly.

Wes nods, picking his sister up and following behind Sera.

•••••••••  
In Toronto, Matthew is watching the news and trying to call Alfred at the same time. He's about to press redial when someone else calls.

"Matt?" It's one of the Carolinas, he's not sure which. "We- uh, we need a favor."

"Anything." Matthew answers immediately.

"We need to land some of the airplanes. Can we reroute the international flights to you?"

Matthew agrees immediately. "How's America?"

There's silence before the kid answers. "I don't know. Sera- She was with him. Try calling her." he hangs up.

Canada scrubs his face with his hands before calling his officials to tell them to start grounding his commercial outbound flights and preparing for rerouted planes coming their way.

 **9:40 AM**  
Wes pulls his sister out of her blazer and button up, leaving her in a camisole.

He sighs as he applies the bandages to spot where her shoulder and neck meet.

Sera crosses her arms, wincing as she agitates her injury- Alfred had made her bandage it up.

"Scott will be here soon." She tells Wesley quietly. "He doesn't know."

Wes closes his eyes. "This is all so fucked up." He mutters before getting up. "Ginny will be fine. Unless they're going to take out something else, like Norfolk or Quantico, she's stable."

Sera blinks, alarmed. "You think they will?"

"No. They'd go for Fort Bragg first if they wanted to hit military bases."

Sera pales, dialing Scarlett and telling her to keep an eye on her brothers. Scarlett already knows, had been watching the news and is in a never-before-seen state of panic.

"I have to go." Sera says quietly. "Break the news to Scott gently."

•••••••••  
In New York, Brooke is starting to stir.

Nicky switches off the news as his sister blinks her eyes open. "Hey."

Brooke stares at him. "Hey, Nicky."

Nicky pushes her hair away from her face. "I was worried about you. You were screaming."

"I remember. Scoot over." She sits up, shoving the hospital pillows behind her. "Have you called Sera yet?"

Nicky is silent.

"Nicky, please tell me you have called Sera." Pain flickers across her face as she moves.

"Um. No?"

**9:42 AM**  
_At 9:42 AM, For the first time in history, the FAA grounds all flights over or bound for the continental United States. Some 3,300 commercial flights and 1,200 private planes are guided to airports in Canada and the United States over the next two-and-a-half hours._

The four states working to ground the planes share a cheer in their respective locations.

Massachusetts leans back in her chair at FAA's Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center and sighs.  _How ironic is it that it's called Operation Yellow Ribbon?_  That's America for you, always trying to make the hopeless into something uplifting.

Ohio smiles. The people she's been snarling at for the past hour wonder if she's crazy- or bipolar.

North Carolina breathes in, relieved, and smiles at his siblings. Georgia gives him a tentative smile in return.

Washington grins, leaning back in his chair. Unfortunately, the chair topples back. The workers decide to ignore him.

•••••••••  
In Bethesda, Sera grabs her phone as it starts ringing. "Hello?"

"Uh, hey, kid."

"Nicky? Where the hell have you been!?"

"... Did you just curse?"

Sera sighs.

"... I am going to tell Ginny on you."

"Look, do you know where Brooke is?"

"Right beside me. We're at Bellevue. Brooke, say hi to Sera."

" _Nicky, do not shove things in my face_."

Sera sighs in relief as she hears a very female, very New York-accented voice on the other side of the phone. "Great. I'll see if I can get the President to send some Secret Service up, in the meantime, FBI or CIA?"

Nicky and Brooke both groan. "Why do we need babysitters?" Nicky asks.

"You know why." It was standard procedure- agents would be authorized to keep medical professionals from cutting any unnecessary holes in states- it had taken David three weeks to regrow his spleen after doctors had removed it due to an unfortunate parachute malfunction. It had  _not_  been pleasant.

There's a moment of silence. "CIA." Nicky says reluctantly.

•••••••••  
In New York, Nicky sighs as he hangs up the phone. "Hey, if you don't mind, I might go and get something. I think there's a vending machine at the end of the hall. You want something?"

"Something chocolatey. And soda."

Nicky grins. Now that sounds like Brooke. "Deal." He slips off the bed and out the door.

He sticks a few dollars in the machine, pressing the buttons for a Hershey's bar and a coke for Brooke.

He leans his forehead against the machine. He'd worked the night shift at dispatch, and then three hours partially covering someone else's. He presses the button for Mountain Dew- he thinks it's the sugariest soda in there, and he needs some sugar.

**9:45 AM**  
_At 9:45 AM, the White House and U.S. Capitol building are evacuated (along with numerous other high-profile buildings, landmarks and public spaces)._

Sera arrives at the White House just in time to help evacuate it.

She ducks into her office, grabbing her spare briefcase out of the closet in her office, along with her spare button up and blazer, and slips the most important of her papers into it.

Then she goes across the hall to Alfred's office, grabbing his papers, and sticking the most treasured of his memorabilia into a knapsack.

"Miss, we need to leave." A secret service agent says gently.

Sera takes one last look around, and then stuffs Alfred's collection of flags into her bag. "Let's go."

•••••••••  
In Bethesda, Scott Jones rushes through the hospital, converse pounding on the linoleum. When he bursts into Alfred's hospital room, Wesley is already there.

"Is Dad okay?" Alfred is unconscious.

Wes looks at him with something like pity, sadness, and anger all rolled into one.

"Scott, there was another plane."

"In New York? Damn, Brooke-"

"Not in New York, Scott."

"Then where?" Scott can feel the nervousness slowly taking hold of his brain. "Where's Gin? If you're here, she would be here too."

"Mare, the plane hit the Pentagon. Arlington. Seven minutes ago."

"Where is Elizabeth?" That nervous feeling has been replaced by pure panic.

"Scott, she's in the room next door."

His heart stops.

•••••••••  
Will is speeding, and he keeps pressing redial over and over, calling New York City over and over, because someone needs to pick up the phone.

•••••••••  
In New York, Brooke's phone once again sounds and vibrates, still plugged in on her nightstand.

 **9:50 AM**  
In New York, three CIA agents arrive, and Brooke nearly laughs at how serious they are. One is by the door, one at the end of the hallway, and another at the elevator.

**9:59 AM**  
_At 9:59 AM, The South Tower of the World Trade Center collapses._

Brooke screams. Nicky jumps, holding her hands so she won't scratch her head anymore, pulling her up so her back is to his chest. He waves off the agent who pokes her head in the room.

She breaks off the second scream. "Nicky, Nicky, the news, the news  _now_."

Nicky doesn't argue with her, grabbing the remote and flipping on CNN.

"Oh my god." Is all Nicky can say.

The South Tower is falling.

Not even falling, but collapsing, just  _collapsing_  floor by floor.

"It's gone." Brooke chokes out. Nicky lets go of her hands as she starts pulls her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "It's gone. How can it be _gone_? It's been there for years! It's the tallest in the city! It was made of millions of tons of concrete and steel and glass! Where would that all go?" Nicky grabs one of her hands, squeezing reassuringly.

Nicky has a feeling that some of the smoke- the smoke that's rising higher than any skyscraper in New York, higher than even the surviving tower- isn't just smoke, but debris. Concrete and steel dust, glass fragments, ash.

Brooke leans forward, teeth gritting, her hand tightening around his painfully.

"Brooke? Brooke! Hey, talk to me. Brooke?"

"It hurts, Nicky, it  _hurts_."

"What hurts?"

"My head mostly." There's fresh blood staining the bandages around her stomach.

Nicky breathes in, trying to calm his panic. "Alright. I can go get someone."

•••••••••  
In Bethesda, Alfred cries out in his sleep and Wes's jaw tightens.

 **10:02 AM**  
"She'll be alright?" Nicky asks the doctor. The doctor and the nurse both seem a little edgy about the CIA agent in the room.

Obviously, they had been told to keep an eye on medical professionals who came in.

"Those are high-quality pain meds. She should be out like a light in no time."  _Hah_. It was harder to knock out a state than a little pain-pill drowsiness.

Brooke rubs her temples and closes her eyes. "I feel sick."

The doctor nods. "Nausea is a side effect. Mr. Jones, if I could talk to you in the hall?"

He looks towards Brooke, who waves him off.

Nicky follows the doctor out into the hallway. "Mr. Jones, will there be any issues with these agents?"

Nicky shakes his head, recoiling at the very  _sudden_  nausea he feels. "No- our father works in the government, and they insist that we have escorts."

"Mr. Jones? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Nicky says, turning to go back to Brooke. The sudden movement makes his nausea spike and he throws up, right there in the hallway.

Not bile, but blood and ash.

 _Gross_ , he thinks, and is thankful that the agent has the foresight to grab him right before he faints.

•••••••••  
Brooke frowns, covering her mouth with a hand. She wondered what the doctor and Nicky were talking about.

"Here, dear." The nurse hands her a bucket. "Just in case it gets worse."

Brooke nods. A second later she's gagging, retching up bright blood and dark ash into the bucket.

•••••••••  
In Bethesda, Alfred frowns at the taste of blood and ash in his mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Personifications Introduced:  
> ★ Stella- Stella-Maris Williams, Northwest Territories  
> ★ Jenara- Jenara Williams, Yukon  
> ★ Sebastian- Sebastian Williams, British Columbia  
> ★ Grace- Grace Williams, Ottawa
> 
> Concepts Introduced:  
> ★ Sympathy pains: the pain a personification feels when their land hasn't been attacked but their people have suffered for it
> 
> Abbreviations:  
> ★ NORAD= North American Aerospace Defense Command  
> ★ NEADS= Northeastern Air Defense Sector
> 
> Regarding Sources:  
> ★ The Italics under certain times come from http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-timeline  
> ★ For the UN Security Council members I used: https://www.un.org/press/en/2001/ORG1323.doc.htm


	3. 10:02 AM-7:00 PM

**10:04 AM**  
In New York, Nicky wakes up to his sister cursing... everything in Dutch. He rolls onto his side, deciding to question where the second bed came from later.

"Artsen?"  _Doctors_? He asks.

"Geen. De CIA haalde ze weg." " _None. CIA chased them off_."

"What was the blood from?"

"My best guess is something started bleeding internally because of the amount of people that died in a short amount of time when the tower collapsed. A lot of your people worked in the towers-"

_So it affected you too._

"Great. Bet the doctors weren't happy about the whole CIA thing."

"Nope. They wanted to do tests on us. Think we're bleeding out internally. I told them we're religiously prohibited from medical procedures like that. I don't think they believed me."

Nicky shot her a look. "We're Catholic."

"Hey, they ban birth control, that's almost as archaic, and besides, I haven't been in a church since the thirties."

"We are _sterile_. And the 1930s? That wasn't so long ago."

"Stop poking holes in my lie, dammit." Brooke's smiling weakly, so he knows she's joking. "And no. I meant the  _17_ 30's." Her smile doesn't quite reach her eyes.

"You're a terrible Catholic."

"I know." 

**10:07 AM**  
_At 10:07 AM, After passengers and crew members aboard the hijacked Flight 93 contact friends and family and learn about the attacks in New York and Washington, they mount an attempt to retake the plane. In response, hijackers deliberately crash the plane into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, killing all 40 passengers and crew aboard._

Will is driving when the pain hits him.

He slams on brakes and regrets it when Del jerks forward, seatbelt locking. 

"Okay?" She gasps. "It's not- it's not Philly is it?"

Will shakes his head. "No, Somerset." Del looks confused at that. "I don't think it was meant for me."

Del's eyes are drawn to the patch of red soaking his shirt, just under his ribcage on his right side.

He winces slightly as the pain sets in.

 _God, if he's feeling this much pain, and it only hit a field, what's Brooke feeling_?

•••••••••  
In DC, the unconscious America groans. Sera watches as another spot begins bleeding from another gash.

Wes is sitting in a chair. Sera knows he wants to be with his sister. She also knows that despite the unending snark, Wes loves his sister. She knows that he also realizes the only person that possibly loves her more is Scott.

And so, instead of him being the one with her, he lets Scott go.

•••••••••  
Ginny looks too small, too pale. She doesn't look eighteen now, and the thick white bandaging taped to the spot where her neck and shoulder met didn't help.

Scott falls into a chair beside her bed and waits.

**10:28 AM**  
_At 10:28 AM, The World Trade Center's North Tower collapses, 102 minutes after being struck by Flight 11. The Marriott Hotel, located at the base of the two towers, is also destroyed._

Brooke knew it was coming.

They were called the twin towers for a reason. They were identical, in every way.

If one collapsed, the other would too.

That didn't mean she was prepared for it.

•••••••••  
Nicky knew the second the north tower collapsed.

Brooke's eyes went wide before they closed, before she went limp in his arms, fresh blood soaking the bandages and into her shirt. 

 **10:39 AM**  
Davy has lost count of how many fighter jets have been scrambled today.

And now two more are patrolling the DC airspace.

God help them all if a plane hits DC. (They all know it's pure luck they all survived 1816. A nation's capital is a nation's heart.)

**10:50 AM**  
_At 10:50 AM, five stories of newly renovated Pentagon collapse due to the fire._

Ginny cries out in her sleep and Scott's eyes snap to the red soaking through the bandages.

 **10:55 AM**  
He still remembered Brooke's face when they told her they would begin construction- she had been  _so very_  proud,  _so very_  happy) Will's hands are shaking on the steering wheel.  

The twin towers have collapsed, turning Brooke's pride and joy into a pile of ash and smoke. 

**11:00 AM**  
_At 11:00 AM, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani calls for the evacuation of Lower Manhattan south of Canal Street, including more than 1 million residents, workers, and tourists, as efforts continue throughout the afternoon to search for survivors in the rubble. Transport Canada halts all aircraft departures until further notice, except for police, military, and humanitarian flights, as part of Operation Yellow Ribbon._

Brooke was still out when Nicky had carefully laid her down and walked out. He had placed a call to the mayor, and told him to start evacuating.

She was still out when he came back. He climbed back into the hospital bed beside her and waited.

 **11:03 AM**  
Nicky is idly brushing back her sister's hair (what else can he do?) when he hears the commotion. 

He stands, going over to the door to poke his head out and almost laughs in relief at the sight of two blonde heads arguing with the nurse at the desk. 

He whistles and Will's head snaps toward him so quickly Nicky's afraid he gave himself whiplash. 

Will eyes widen in relief, and once the nurse realizes that _oh, they're here for them_, she lets Will and Del pass.

•••••••••  
Will's hands curl into fists at the sight of Brooke. 

She doesn't deserve this. Neither did Ginny or Sera. Even Alfred didn't deserve this- he never had anything but good intentions.

His throat tightens when he recognizes the hoodie Brooke is wearing. 

Nicky looks at him oddly. 

"That's my hoodie." Will whispers fondly, sadly. 

 **11:07 AM**  
Connie and Monty arrive, and decide to camp out in the hall with Del rather than crowd Brooke.

**12:39 PM**  
_At 12:39 PM, on CNN, Senator John McCain characterizes the attack as an "act of war."_

England drops the freshly brewed tea he's holding when the news says  _act of war_.

An act of war.

_America will go to war because of this._

**1:00 PM**  
Brooke wakes up and just  _knows_  Will's there, that he's holding her. 

And that Will smells like  _blood_ , not his usual _old-spice-and-chocolate_.

•••••••••  
Nicky's a little amused when Brooke sits bolt upright and starts lecturing a very startled William. 

In Dutch, which Will should really get around to learning.

"Brooke," Nicky says once Will looks like he's on the verge of panic, "William cannot understand you when you rant at him in Dutch. William, please explain to Brooke about your injuries."

" _My_  injuries? What about  _her_  injuries?"

Nicky glares at him. 

Will looks back at Brooke. "A plane hit a field in Somerset. It's not a big deal-"

Brooke seems to disagree if the way she's trying to get Will's shirt up is any indication. 

"Brooke, that's a more of Will than I'd like to see." Nicky states. Brooke flips him off.

She apparently deems the wound non-life-threatening, as she allows Will to pull his shirt back down and inspect her own injuries. 

Will's fingers brush over the red-tinted white bandaging her stomach, and he looks so  _sad_.

Nicky stands and goes to join Del in the hallway.

**1:04 PM**  
_At 1:04 PM, President Bush puts the U.S. military on high alert worldwide (known as Force Protection Condition Delta). Taped remarks from the President were aired from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, stating that "freedom itself was attacked this morning by a faceless coward and freedom will be defended." He also said that the "United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts."_

In Toronto, Adrien is watching the news when they air the President's remarks.

 _Good._ He thinks. This terrible thing they have done will not go unpunished. 

•••••••••  
In Bossier City, Louisiana, Flora is crying into her sister's shoulder.

Evangeline makes soft little comforting noises and pets Flora's wild curls.

**2:39 PM**  
_At 2:39 PM, at a press conference New York, Mayor Rudy Giuliani is asked to estimate the number of casualties at the World Trade Center. He replies, "More than any of us can bear."_

Brooke is awake, curled into her boyfriend, watching the news when the Mayor says this.

She knows the exact number of New Yorkers who have died today- it rings in her head like a broken record, detailing how badly she had failed to protect her people. 

 **2:51**   **PM**  
_At 2:51 PM, the U.S. Navy dispatches missile destroyers to New York and Washington, D.C._

Callie doesn't like feeling guilty, because one, this  _is not her fault_.

Yet, guilt twists her stomach as she watches the news. 

Maybe convincing the Navy to do something is her way of attempting to get rid of it.

 **5:20**   **PM**  
_At 5:20_   _PM, the 47-story Seven World Trade Center collapses after burning for hours; the building had been evacuated in the morning, and there are no casualties, though the collapse forces rescue workers to flee for their lives._

Brooke burrows further into Will's chest as she feels another building in the World Trade Center complex collapse. 

Will rubs her back- where the scars from the Stock Market collapse sweep along her shoulder blades. 

**7:00 PM**  
_At 7:00 PM, Efforts to locate survivors in the rubble that had been the twin towers continue. Fleets of ambulances are lined up to transport the injured to nearby hospitals, but they stand empty. "Ground Zero", as the site of the WTC collapse becomes known henceforth, is the exclusive domain of NYC's Fire Department and Police Department, despite volunteer steel and construction workers who stand ready to move large quantities of debris quickly._

Brooke decides she has had enough at seven. She not going to sit in a hospital while people could be trapped in the rubble. There are people being rescued, not as many as there should be, but there have been survivors.

Will argues with her. "You're still bleeding!"

Her blue eyes narrow in a familiar way.  _Try and stop me, I dare you._

Eventually, even Will steps down. Brooke grabs her purse and walks out.

Will walks with her, because someone has to stop her from doing anything insane.

They don't have any problems until they pass Union Square Park.

Relatives and friends of victims or likely victims, many displaying enlarged photographs of the missing printed on home computer printers. The park has become a center of vigil.

Brooke starts sobbing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sources:  
> -http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-timeline  
> -http://timeline.911memorial.org/#Timeline/2


	4. 8:00 PM- 9:30 PM

**8:01 PM**  
In Bethesda, the Secret Service manage to get two more rooms in the hall cleared out.

The Carolinas and Scarlett take one of them, squishing together in the bed because they can't decide who should have to sleep on the couch.

Alfred just gives Sera and Wes his ' _I-am-the-parent-and-you-will-do-what-I-say_ ' look until they slink off.

Wes refuses to let Sera sleep on the couch, saying Ginny would kick his ass if he did, so Sera gets the bed and Wes gets the couch- although he does steal one of her pillows, not that Sera minds.

She just wants this day to be over.

 **8:30 PM**  
The first thing Ginny registers as she wakes is the warm, gentle weight around her left hand. She blinks her eyes open and it takes awhile for her to realize why there are dimmed hospital lights bathing the room in shadows. She brushes off the flair of panic beating through her blood like a war drum in favor of taking in her surroundings.

Ginny's shoulder hurts like hell, but that doesn't matter because a figure with wild blonde hair in the chair beside her bed, a hand that's slightly more tanned than hers holding her hand.

Scott, holding her hand. Ginny decides to question that later, when she doesn't feel horrible.

It doesn't take very long for her to slip her hand out of his and get out of bed. She sways once, and it's enough to know they had to have given her something to knock her out.

She wonders if Brooke can feel the death toll constantly repeating in her head, if she can feel the phantom pain all over her body.

_-59 on the plane. Western side of the Pentagon. 125 personnel in the Pentagon. Military and Civilian. Would have been more but the Western side was being renovated. 184 deaths-_

Over and over, like a broken record. She wonders briefly what broken record is running through Brooke's head.

She finds her way into the bathroom, and stares at her reflection in the mirror above the sink.

There's dark smudges under her eyes from working the past week with minimal sleep and maximum coffee, and she doesn't know who peeled her out of her blazer and button up, but someone had to because she's wearing the thin nude-colored camisole that was under her shirt this morning. She's glad whoever did it at least left her in her own clothes.

White bandages have been tapped over the spot where her neck and shoulder meet, and she pulls them off without hesitation.

There's a thick gash running from the tip of her shoulder blade to her collarbone. It's deep enough that it's damaged her muscle somehow, although there's a tingling to the pain that means it's healing. The edges look burnt, a bit like Sera's hands do. Even though the hospital staff must have cleaned it, it still looks a bit like someone rubbed soot into it.

She makes a face at the mirror before wetting a paper towel and gently rubbing away the soot and what's probably concrete dust.

After, she digs around until she finds clean bandages and tape. She manages to reapply them, not as well as they had been before, but good enough.

She goes to find Alfred after pulling the hospital blankets off her bed and over Scott.

 **8:42 PM**  
Alfred is looking through Netflix on his laptop when Ginny pads her way into his room. She pauses as she notices Wes's hoodie draped over a chair next to Sera's sweater, which doesn't escape Alfred's notice.

"They're in another room. Finally managed to convince them to go to bed like an hour ago. The Carolinas got here five hours ago, and they're all in the room next door." Alfred scoots over, patting the bed beside him. "Come watch the Princess Bride with me."

 **9:00 PM**  
In New York, Brooke spends most of the night sobbing into his shoulder.

The others must play rock-paper-scissors or something for the guest rooms, but Will isn't sure what they do- he'd picked Brooke up when she started crying at Union Square and hadn't set her down until they got back to her apartment.

Will knows Brooke doesn't like crying, that she perceives it as a weakness. No matter how many times they'd all told her she was wrong, how many times she had contradicted herself while comforting someone else, she's always been like that.

Will can't even count the times there was some disaster and Brooke had locked herself inside the bathroom and refused to let him in.

She doesn't like crying, but she  _hates_  when people see her cry.

So Will doesn't even pause in the living room with the other states, he goes straight back to her room, nudging the door shut with his foot.

He wraps Brooke's pale gray comforter around both of them. Brooke buries her face into his shoulder, and Will doesn't say anything about the tears.

 **9:13 PM**  
Scott wakes up, and he doesn't notice Ginny's gone for a moment.

Then he does, and panics so bad that he can't breathe for a solid minute.

After logical thought returns, he decides that Ginny isn't stupid, she wouldn't just break out of a hospital.

He eventually comes to the conclusion that Ginny would seek out their father, and pads down the hall.

Alfred smiles up at him as he enters, the dialogue from whatever movie is playing echoing around the room.

Ginny is asleep with her head on Alfred's shoulder, and Scott remembers years when they were younger, long before there were airplanes, let alone airplanes full of civilians being crashed on purpose into buildings full of civilians and government personnel.

Scott cleared his throat. "What're you watching?"

"Princess Bride. Gin fell asleep after the guy drank the poison." He answers, stroking Ginny's hair absentmindedly.

Scott nods, crossing the room. Alfred smiles when Scott slips one arm under Ginny's neck and the other under her knees.

 **9:28 PM**  
Nicky grabs the ringing phone, pulling it to his ear.

 _He'd just gotten to sleep, who could be calling_? "Hello?"

"Nicky! Oh thank god, I've been calling and it wouldn't go through and Brooke's just went to voicemail-"

 _Adam_. Damn, he'd forgotten to call Adam and let him know he was okay- he'd been too focused on his sister, and  _jesus_ , Adrien must be having breakdown by now-

"Are you okay?" Adam chokes out.

"I'm fine, Adam-"

There's rustling as someone takes the phone. "Connie's there, right? She's alright?" Sam blurts.

If he listens, he can hear Foster and Cam in the background too, and Adam asking for his phone back.

"Yeah, Connie's here, and Monty too."

He hears a cut-off sob-sound before Adam gets the phone back.

"You're alright, though? I know you had a lot of people that worked in the towers."

Nicky swallows. Does he tell him that his entire body aches with sympathy pains, that he threw up blood and ash, that his head feels like one of Sam's 808 drums?

Adam doesn't need to worry. "I'm fine. I love you."

"I love you, too."


	5. Aftermath

**Day Of (9/11/2001)**  
There is a certain amount of time that emotions can be suppressed before they explode.

Usually, Brooke does not cry.

Ever, if she can help it. Mascara is too expensive for crying. ( _and perhaps, some part of her is still that girl from the streets who knew crying would be seen as a weakness_.)

But there is too much emotion. Her people are grieving and angry and sad and  _it's too much all at once._

Brooke barely feels William pick her up.

She barely feels anything until Will sits her down, wrapping her in her comforter and holding her.

 **1 Day After (9/12/2001)**  
_Fires continue to burn along the Pentagon's roof. By early evening, the fire is controlled but not completely extinguished._

Fires are still burning at the Pentagon, and Ginny is very tired of nurses and doctors offering her pain medication every two minutes.

She understands, of course, that as a hospital that knows personifications exist with a staff prepared to treat them, they have a tendency to go overboard.

But is it really necessary to ask  _that many times_?

Scott just laughs at her when she expresses this.

Sera, just a little tense from the pain, smiles.   
\------------  
Alfred is pretty sure that placing Bethesda in charge of the medical care of personifications was an  _excellent_  idea. Not only did they handle the states' physicals, but they were accommodating during disasters- they'd provided four rooms and enough beds for the assorted states gathered, and America couldn't be more grateful that his kids weren't sleeping on couches or in armchairs.

 **2 Days After (9/13/2001)**  
_For the first time in Nato's History, Article Five, the article that says an armed attack against one member is an attack against them all, is invoked._

Ginny packs her bags, Scott scanning the room to make sure she isn't leaving anything.

"Ready?" He asks quietly, taking the bag from her.

Ginny nods.  
\------------  
Leo is flipping the hell out over the phone.

Sera smiles faintly as he slips into Spanish.

He's talking about how he can't get a plane ticket, how he's stuck at his house while his family is under attack.

Eventually he starts talking faster, and all Sera catches is her name and  _te amo_.

Which. Well, he's said before, and she'd said it back, but it's still nice to hear.  
\------------  
Sera calls Will to tell him NATO is invoking Article Five.

(an armed attack against  _one_  member is an armed attack against  _them all_.)

Brooke disappears further under her comforter when he tells her.

 **3 Days After (9/14/2001)**  
_Operation Noble Eagle (the United States and Canadian military launch operations related to homeland security in response to the September 11 attacks) begins. Congress passes The Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists, authorizing the use of United States Armed Forces against those responsible for the attacks on September 11, 2001, and any "associated forces". This allows the President the authority to use all "necessary and appropriate force" against those whom he determined "planned, authorized, committed or aided" the September 11th attacks, or who harbored said persons or groups._

Brooke's cheerful personality has seemingly disintegrated. She has no interest in her sketchbooks or cooking or anything at all.

Will really tries not to be jealous that Brooke seems to prefer Nicky over him- after all, Nicky is her brother. But Connie and Monty went home, and Brooke curls up on the couch, folding into herself until it's impossible to tell that she's almost six foot and talks to Nicky in a mix of Dutch and French and Will only speaks German and English and she knows this. It's petty and ridiculous and Will hates it.  
\------------  
Ginny slept most of the day she went home, and Scott had used that time to restock her frighteningly low groceries- she had been down to a box of tea, a bottle of soy sauce, and approximately four boxes of ridiculously sugary cereal.

Then Ginny woke up, and informed him of her plans to assist with the investigation at the Pentagon.

His immediate response had been  _hell no_ , until she pointed out the logic- the faster the investigation, the faster the cleanup.  
\------------  
The American and Canadian Governments busy themselves locating their personifications and spreading the word.

A partial recall has been enacted along with Operation Noble Eagle.

All personifications in both countries must be accounted for.

 **4 Days After (9/15/2001)**  
England comes to visit on the fifteenth.

He informs America, of course. The hospital staff is informed that states will not be mentioned in England's presence because while not a punishable offense, it was practically tantamount to treason.

The Carolinas and Georgia disappear somewhere before England arrives, and West goes with Sera back to the white house.   
\------------  
England arrives, and for a moment, his eyes are blank.

A second later, they promise that there will be hell to pay for this.

Then he goes to see the Pentagon for himself.  
\------------  
"Bloody hell." Ginny hears England mutter.

She's in her naval uniform, blonde hair bound back. She isn't as distinguishable as the other states, so in theory...

"Think that's bad, you should see New York." She blurts before she can stop herself. England doesn't turn.

"I've seen the news." He responds.

Ginny resists the urge to roll her eyes.

"Everyone's seen the news." She turns to him, to the nation that founded her, her other father. "But they're already making plans to rebuild the Pentagon, we're already fixing the mistakes that lead to this. I guess that's the thing though."

"What thing?" England questions quietly.

"Americans don't know when to just give up. They wanted to hurt us, instead they united us. Look around, and there's an American flag flying in just about every yard."

"Lieutenant Commander!" Someone calls.

Ginny attempts a smile. "It seems I'm needed. Goodbye.

 **5 Days After (9/16/2001)**  
Will goes to get food and Brooke tries.

She tries so hard.

She knows that Will is worrying about her, and she wants him to not worry anymore.

It begins with trying to get through the stack of books that sits piled beside her nightstand- the one she had once described to Will as screaming  _read me_!

So she picks out a book and curls up on the couch.

She reads the first page eighteen times without understanding it.

Then she tries to draw, resulting in something so horrible it needed to be burned. Really.

Around the time she burns a sketch paper over a candle is when she draws Nicky's concerns.

Nicky shadows her around as she attempts cooking, and the alarm only grows as she burns the chicken.

Brooke is something of a foodie, and when you've been cooking for as long as she has, you don't burn things unless you forget about them.

She lacks the motivation to change into anything other than her pajama leggings and Will's Carnegie Mellon hoodie, let alone bother with her hair or makeup.

Nicky must figure out what she's doing because he hugs her- very suddenly, jostling her enough that she winces at the sudden pain in her injuries.

"I'm sorry." Nicky mutters into her hair.

 **6 Days After (9/17/2001)**  
_The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) reopens after its longest closure since the Great Depression of 1933. In honor of those killed in the attacks, the NYSE observes two minutes of silence before trading begins._

The Stock Exchange reopens, and Alfred calls- he's called before, of course, but Brooke hasn't wanted to talk. Still doesn't.

Will leans against the wall and listens to Alfred over the phone.

He frowns at the idea of a full recall- they haven't had a full recall since the Cuban Missile Crisis.

This is certainly large-scale enough to warrant one, but Brooke isn't going to get better in the Virginia House- that isn't how she works.

He tells Alfred no.

 **7 Days After (9/18/2001)**  
_President Bush signs the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists four days after Congress passes it._

The President signs the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists, and Nicky goes home.

All Will can think about is that they're still digging bodies out of the rubble, that Brooke's pride collapsed with those towers, that Brooke still refuses to speak in English.

 **10 Days After (9/21/2001)**  
_The FBI Assumes Control of the Pentagon Crime Scene._

Ginny digs her FBI vest out of her closet and joins the field investigation for her Pentagon.

 **12 Days After (9/23/2001)**  
He's absentmindedly petting Brooke's hair, reading the Age of Innocence to her when she speaks.

Speaks. To him. In English.

"I love you." She mutters, and starts crying.   
\------------  
Brooke knows she isn't easy to deal with. She's sad and afraid and angry.

And yet he stayed.

Will has just tossed her copy of the Age of Innocence, and normally she'd care a lot more that he just threw a first edition, but right now he looks  _so sad_.

He holds her tight, and never once asks her to stop crying.

 **13 Days After (9/24/2001)**  
_New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani announces that it is unlikely that any more survivors will be rescued from Ground Zero. The number of presumed dead, which will be revised progressively downward as missing person estimates are reevaluated, is reported to be 6,453._

Will doesn't think they should be watching the news.

It just seems to make Brooke sadder.

Will flinches when Giuliani says they are shifting from rescue to recovery.

Flinches again when he says 6,453 presumed dead.

Brooke, however, looks relieved.

Will shots a curious look at her.

Brooke shakes her head. "It isn't that high. They've overestimated the number."

 **21 Days After (10/2/2001)**  
The United States of America sit down at a conference table and plan for a war.

The board at the front of the room displays a group skype- for the states unable to be there in person.

They all pretend New York's hair isn't a bird's nest, or that she's not unusually pale.

What the meeting is really about is who's going in first- who will be accompanying the invading troops.

Everyone's surprised when New York says she's going.

 **24 Days After (10/5/2001)**  
It's the day before Brooke leaves for Afghanistan, and she knows very well what she wants.

She wants a good memory.   
\------------  
Brooke is kissing him, arching up into his touch, and Will forgets that she's still hurt.

She shoves his shirt up to get at the skin underneath, fingers digging into his shoulders when he finds the sensitive spot on her neck.

But when he slips a hand up her shirt, he's met with a yelp and a flinch away.

He'd forgotten about the still-healing wounds.

He doesn't touch her again.

 **25 Days After (10/6/2001)**  
Austin gives her a weak grin. Ginny just looks up and nods.

Brooke takes her seat beside them.

She hates military transport planes.

The conversation she'd had with Will runs through her mind- the one where he promised to watch over her people like they were his own.

 **26 Days After (10/7/2001)**  
_The War in Afghanistan begins with the Invasion of Afghanistan, under the codename Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan (OEF-A)._

It feels weird, sleeping in Brooke's bed without her.

But yesterday, she had asked him nothing more than to keep an eye on the recovery effort and he had blurted out a half-thought out promise that he would watch over her people like they were his own.

So he would stick around this heartbroken city for her.

 **27 Days After (10/8/2001)**  
_Workers discover a fault line adjacent to the Slurry Wall (an underground waterproof barrier designed to hold back seepage from the nearby Hudson River during the original excavation of the site in the 1960s) around the World Trade Center site. The slurry wall survived intense strain during the towers' collapse and engineers feared it would rupture, causing flooding that would compromise recovery operations and potentially affect areas of lower Manhattan._

"What do you mean?" Will asks.

"Well, Miss Brooke would know better, being there when it was built and all, but the slurry wall was built to keep the water from the Hudson slipping through the ground and damaging the land. If the slurry wall ruptures, it could flood Ground Zero and possibly lower Manhattan."

Will bites his lip. "Then you've got to fortify it."

He can do this- watch over these people. They're just another part of the woman he loves.

 **30 Days After- 1 Month (10/11/2001)**  
_President George W. Bush delivers keynote remarks at a memorial service held on the Pentagon's Parade Field. The 20,000 invited guests include several thousand family members of 9/11 victims and survivors of the attacks._

Nobody looks twice at three more people in military uniforms.

Alfred wraps his arm around Sera and Scott as the President gives his speech.

They'll recover from this.

 **Epilogue- May 30, 2002**  
_Workers remove the Last Column from the World Trade Center site during a televised public ceremony marking the end of the cleanup operation at Ground Zero. Thousands are in attendance to publicly salute the Last Column's departure from Ground Zero and commemorate the end of the nine-month recovery period. In the nine months following September 11, workers removed some 1.8 million tons of debris. This massive recovery effort finished ahead of schedule and on budget. Remarkably, no deaths and few serious injuries occurred during the cleanup._

Will tangles his fingers with Brooke's as they watch the last column is removed.

She'd come home in the middle of the month, and he'd be gone on June 3, and he wished they had more time together, but they don't.

As the column is pulled from Ground Zero, the thousands of people watching salute.

Out of the corner of his eye, Will can see tears streaming down Brooke's face as she salutes with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eventually, I will write more about the War on Terror and the effects of 9/11 (for instance, Brooke's developed fear of flying on commercial planes, the whole thing from Day 24, etc.)
> 
> But for now, I guess it's the end.


End file.
